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The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and New York was as calm as it ever gets. Since it was such a nice day, Peter simply couldn’t stay inside. Sure, he was supposed to be resting because he may or may not have been pushed down the stairs on his last bust, but he was just a little banged up! Nothing that would stop him from strolling about.
Okay, maybe he had a slight limp, but it truly wasn’t a problem.
Peter strolled through a park, tried (and failed) to find a birthday present for Liz, and overall just enjoyed his free time. He needed some time to decompress from work every once in a while, and this was perfect. It was relaxing not to have to think about anything aside from making his wife happy. Right now, he didn’t have to worry about fraud, or mowing the lawn, or the report he may or may not have forgotten to file, or whatever tragedy was lurking in Neal’s past.
…Neal who was sitting in a crowded tea shop across the street and looking absolutely miserable.
Suddenly spotting the younger man startled Peter enough that he froze mid-step and had to do a double take. Whelp, so much for that. With that thought, he pivoted and quickly crossed the street. There was no way in hell he was going to let his best friend wallow in misery without at least trying to help.
As he walked into the shop, a soft, tinkling bell rang overhead. At the sound of the bell, Neal looked up. A look of confusion crossed his face when he realized it was Peter who was strolling towards him.
“Hey, Neal,” Peter said in a warm tone. “Mind if I join you?”
Still looking unsure of what was happening, his CI waved him to the chair across from him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know, just enjoying my time off and stretching my legs!”
Neal cocked an unimpressed eyebrow. “You mean the one you’re supposed to be resting?”
“Exactly! Now, what are you doing here? I thought you preferred drinking tea in a more…calming environment,” Peter said, a touch of concern muddling his tone as he looked around the busy shop. While Neal could definitely be quite the social butterfly when he wanted to, Peter had picked up on how he could be far more reserved than people realized. A lot of the Neal the public saw was a mask. Why, Peter didn’t know. There were a lot of things he would like to learn about his friend, but he was content with doing so at Neal’s pace.
This was one of the occasions where Neal would either open up to him or deflect. He could definitely see how the younger man was struggling with the decision as he often did, so he waited patiently for whichever option his friend chose.
After a minute where Neal just thought and clutched his cup like a lifeline, he finally replied, “You’re right. I’d much rather be at home. However-” There was another brief hesitation as he gathered his words. “I’m just having a rough day. Tea is something my grandfather shared with me, and I guess I’m just missing home more than usual today. I- I didn’t want to be alone.”
On the outside, Peter nodded along and kept a straight face. On the inside though, his heart was breaking. He feels like he probably should’ve foreseen this. Sure, Neal tended to be more of an introvert when left to his own devices in his own space, but even introverts need social interaction. And Neal didn’t really have anyone outside of the people at the office, June, Mozie (when he wasn’t hunkering down in his bunker expecting a robo-pigeon to hunt him down), and Liz and him. Even then, more than half of the people at the office tended to keep their distance from Neal due to his background.
“That’s totally understandable, and I’m so sorry you can’t be with them right now. In the future and if you’re comfortable with it, go ahead and give me a call if you don’t want to be by yourself. I’m more than happy to help distract you, listen and help talk you through it, or just sit in silence. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
For a moment, Neal looked like he was about to cry before locking it down. “Thanks, Peter. I appreciate it. On that note, want to have tea back at my place? I know it’s your day out so it’s all-”
“I’d love that,” Peter gently interrupted.
Twenty minutes later, the two men were walking into Neal’s apartment. The moment the door was open, a sweet, mouthwatering smell wafted out, and when they walked in, he could see a simple but elegantly decorated cake sitting on the counter.
“What’s the cake for?” he asked as Neal pulled his midnight black tea set and started brewing the tea.
Shrugging, his friend replied, “It’s my grandfather’s birthday today. I know he’s not here, but it didn’t feel right to not have one.”
Recognizing the hurt in Neal’s voice, Peter asked exuberantly, “Did you bake this? I knew you were good in the kitchen, but this looks like it came from one of the gourmet bakeries Liz sometimes has cater! I think you may have made the wrong career choices. You definitely would have killed it as a baker!”
Neal’s ears turned pink at the compliment. “Want a slice? It’ll go great with this particular blend.”
“Are you sure? It looks too pretty to eat!” Which it did, but also Peter didn’t want Neal to feel pressured to cut into a cake meant for his grandfather who may or may not be alive.”
In lieu of answering, Neal simply cut two generous slices and brought them to the living room with the tea. As soon as Peter took a bite of that cake, he practically melted onto the floor. “Neal, what the hell, this is the best cake I’ve ever had! Why are you hiding your marvelous talents under your fedora? I’m almost insulted that you haven’t baked me something like this before!”
Neal burst out laughing at that, and Peter was proud to see that the kid looked far better than he had a short while ago. “Peter, I hope you know I’ll be telling Liz you think I’m a better baker than her?” The smirk on Neal’s face almost covered up the blatant threat to his life.
“Fine, do it,” he said nonchalantly. “But you better bring the damn cake with you or she will eviscerate me and I will be haunting you!”
“Deal!”
_______
Three weeks later, Peter wasn’t dead yet. However, Neal also hadn’t breathed a word to his darling wife yet. So, his demise could still be looming in the distance. Besides that fun little tidbit, things have gone back to normal. He healed up and returned to work, turned in the totally not overdo paperwork, mowed the stupid lawn, and continued searching for the perfect birthday present for Liz.
This particular afternoon, he didn’t have anything on the agenda. Liz was out with some friends, so it was just him and Sachmo tonight. Or that was the plan until the phone rang.
“Hey, do you want to have tea with me?” a timid voice asked.
“Always.”